Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead

Succubus Revealed (Georgina Kincaid, Book 6)

We’re all used to seeing fantasy novels featuring vampires, werewolves and Fae folk, but it’s not often that you see much else. A lot of the “something else” that you’ll find is shunted into the romance section of your local bookstore. If you take the time to occasionally wander in that direction, you can find some pretty good stuff. Such is the case with Richelle Mead’s Georgia Kincaid series, with features a succubus in the leading role. Sadly, this series has come to an end, and Succubus Revealed is a roller coaster ride that wraps up the action.

(Description nicked from B&N.com.)

“Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her. Take Seth Mortensen. The man has risked his soul to become Georgina’s boyfriend. Still, with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can’t just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss. In fact, she’s being forced to transfer operations. . .to Las Vegas.

The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina’s allies are suspicious. Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle—and from Seth? Georgina is one of Hell’s most valuable assets, but if there’s any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it—no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind. She just hopes the casualties won’t include the one man she’s risking everything for. . .”

One of the things that I’ve liked most about this series is the fact that the characters don’t overcome a few minor obstacles and waltz into happily ever after. They don’t even get happily ever after at the end of each book, after weathering some shake-ups. A couple of these books have ended on truly sour notes, but not in a way that felt contrived or badly written. It’s just that, for a romance series, the author puts her characters through some awfully realistic trials. It’s kept me invested in them and in what happens to them.

The constant “things are going well” being turned into “things are going badly” and back again is much more consistent with real life, with its ups and downs. Granted, most of us don’t deal with demons on a regular basis, but we do face the challenges of communication with our significant others, the juggling of responsibilities, and the decisions about how we live our life. I have to applaud Mead for taking a character that would seem unlikeable and turning her into a solid avatar for the real troubles we find in day to day life.

There’s always been a strong undercurrent of good versus evil in this series, although it hasn’t often been made manifest. For the most part, those qualities lie under the surface: Jerome, Georgina’s supervisor, hides his demonic aspects in the guise of a young John Cusack; Carter, an angel, looks like a scruffy vagabond; Georgina herself spends most of the series working in a bookstore. Here, finally, the gloves are off and readers get to see the lengths to which Hell—and Heaven—will go for what they want.

There are many threads that the author has scattered throughout this series and they all come together in this book. Mead does a great job of bring events to a logical conclusion without sacrificing on the tension or the action. Readers should have nothing to complain about as far as how the central conflict is finally resolved.

I’m sad to see this series end. I’ve come to look forward to each of these books as they come out, and that’s high praise from me. I’ve tended to get the Georgina books on their release day, and it’s not long before I’m nose deep in the story. Come next summer, I’ll miss having a new Georgina story to pick up and enjoy.

While not the typical paranormal fantasy fare, the Georgina Kincaid series has proven its worth with action, romance, thrills and solid storytelling featuring true to life characters. Succubus Revealed may be the end of the series, but I’ll be recommending it for a long time to come.